The embodiments herein relate generally to mapping MIDI signals (or any other form of digital/electronic music communication system), and more particularly to mapping MIDI signals in a manner that puts harmony and melody octaves of a MIDI instrument in perfect pitch.
Many modern music producers have no formal education in music theory and only limited or no formal training in applying music theory to the playing of music instruments used to create music productions. Keyboard instruments, such as electronic keyboards, electronic pianos, and synthesizers, provide music producers a wide range of capabilities for producing a music project. However, without an understanding of music theory and its specific application to, for example, an electronic keyboard, the music producer would be largely limited to using only a small range of the musical capabilities the keyboard has to offer. For example, a chord progression with a particular melody is often the basis of a music composition, yet it is exceptionally difficult for a producer with no music theory training to play such a chord progression and a corresponding melody in perfect tune. Thus, music producers have needed ways to overcome limited or no music theory training in order to leverage the full musical capacity of keyboard instruments.
As a result, many producers have resorted to using samples as a primary element to the music they produce. Samples are short audio clips extracted from other music productions. A music producer can, for instance, record and use a short audio clip of an electric guitar riff performed by another musician and recorded on another music production. However, this has led to many legal problems, and has limited producers' creativity on a certain level. Recently a few software programs (e.g., VST plug-ins) have been created which provide a producer with the ability to easily compose chord progressions without a background in music theory. However, the offerings that these software programs provide are limited. Indeed, the chord progressions that are possible by using these programs are all limited, and thus, a music producer's artistic expression is constrained from the start when using these programs. Also, none of the current software programs allow for users to edit the intonation and voicing of each individual tone within each chord. In addition, most products do not enable the producer to create melodies along with the chords that are automatically generated. Those that do enable simultaneous melodic composition force the user to slide their right hand up and down the scale from root key to root key. Because such programs tend to limit artistic expression, the music producer typically ends up compromising the aesthetic quality of the work. This remains a problem for those music producers who lack the formal music theory education and training needed to fully express the artistic vision he or she has for a music production.
Therefore, what is needed is a way for music producers without formal music theory training to leverage the full unconstrained musical capacity of a piano or keyboard.